1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for desalination.
2. Description of Related Art
Interest in the use of low grade heat sources and recovery of waste heat is growing due to increasing energy costs and declining energy sources. Examples of low grade energy sources include solar energy and heat rejected by fossil fuel-based power plants, air conditioning/refrigeration systems, and industrial processes. As a consequence of the laws of thermodynamics, thermal systems have to reject large quantities of low grade heat energy to the environment. For example, heat rejection rate of modern combined cycle power plants is almost equal to their output. Approaches to utilize waste heat to produce value added products or services can conserve limited energy sources, reduce adverse environmental impacts, and minimize overall costs.
The present invention utilizes low grade heat to operate a new desalination process. Traditional desalination processes such as reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, mechanical vapor compression, and multi-effect flash distillation require electrical energy derived from nonrenewable sources, the cost of which has increased by 10 times over the past 20 years. Recently, a new desalination process has been proposed that has the potential to run solely on low grade heat sources at around 50° C. The present invention is a modification to that process, whereby it can run around the clock, using a thermal energy storage (TES) system that enables waste heat sources and renewable energy sources to be used to drive the process with minimum reliance on grid power. TES manages variable energy demand over time, is a continuous heat source, and has a lower specific energy for desalination. The present invention, unlike the process mentioned above, enables solar collectors and photovoltaic panels to provide the energy to drive the process. The TES system can be maintained at the desired temperature using low grade waste heat from any available source.